Buying One's Musical History As One Ages

[progeezer]

I thought I'd start a thread to see if anyone besides me has seen this happen, either to themselves or someone they know.

Over the last 6 months I've bought music that at different times in my life was important to me, even though my tastes have changed dramatically many, many times over the years.

In the last 6 months (not a complete list), I've purchased (a lot of it "used" to avoid bankruptcy):

Elvis - At Sun Records
Elvis - first 2 RCA albums
Joan Baez - debut album
Buffy Sainte-Marie - best of
Steve Gillette - s/t
Eric Andersen - 'Bout Changes & Things
Cheap 5 cd packs by the Byrds, pre-Nicks F Mac, Mike Oldfield, Tull, Sandy Denny, Moodies. Iron Butterfly & Traffic
Burrito Bros. - Gilded Palace/Burrito Deluxe combo
Gram Parsons - GP/Grievous Angel combo
Elec Prunes - Mass in F Minor/Kol Nidre combo
Bubble Puppy
5 cd cheap pack "Psychedelia" which incl. Tomorrow w/Steve Howe, Idle Race, The Gods, July, & the Yardbirds "Little Games"

There's more, but you get the picture.

Anyone else becoming a victim of nostalgia as they age, or do you have to be at least 70 before it hits.

[spellbound]

I do something similar, but seemingly less organized. I pick up music cheap at thrift stores, yard sales, library store, etc. Many times I will buy old music that was important in my younger days but that my current musical taste has gone beyond. I sometimes ask myself, if I had to pay full price, would I buy this? The answer is often no. But I do like having the music available in my collection so I can listen to it when the mood arises. I also bought, new, several of those 5-cd packs when I spotted them at a good price once. But the 5 cds have to be albums I want and (mostly) don't already have. I'm in my early 60s. Old enough to know that cds have no resale value.

[markwoll]

Since a lot of bands are releasing boxes that have been 'tuned up' I have acquired a few. The prices are hard to beat.
In some cases the vinyl I have from the old days was used when I got it.
Not the best for ripping, although it is jarring to listen to that old record and hear that 'pop' in the same place as 30 years ago.
The surface noise had become part of the musical memory.

[adap2it]

Not me Steve..nostalgia is a bit of a spectator sport for me. Musically, I look at the past at just that. If I go to shows that feature "OLD" artists, like the recent Moody Blues and JM Jarre, it's usually because I know that my wife would enjoy it too. I definitely would not buy music for nostalgia reasons.

[NogbadTheBad]

I've been revisiting a lot of the music of my teens, some of it stuff I didn't really like at the time. It's either aged well or may tastes have broadened.

Relatively recent purchases

Rainbow
Judas Priest
Scorpions
Depeche Mode
Joy Division

[JKL2000]

Stuff I liked in my youth (prior to when I really started acquiring my own music collection) I'm mostly content to hear on the radio or occasionally on YouTube, Spotify, etc. The Beatles, most classic rock, etc. I want to minimize buying new CDs where possible, so I limit that to box sets, newer bands I want to support, etc.

[GuitarGeek]

5 cd cheap pack "Psychedelia" which incl. Tomorrow w/Steve Howe, Idle Race, The Gods, July, & the Yardbirds "Little Games"

Damn, I keep forgetting to check out The Idle Race, The Gods, and that Yardbirds record. How are they? For those who don't know, The Idle Race was the band Jeff Lynne was in before he joined The Move (and by extension, also pre-ELO), and The Gods was the band Greg Lake, Mick Taylor and Ken Hensley were all in before ELP, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Uriah Heep.

As for the topic at hand, I never really stopped liking anything I liked when I was younger (well, except The Village People, although I was never that into them), so the "need" to own stuff "I used to like" doesn't really happen with me.

What has happened is I've occasionally grabbed some of the hard rock and metal stuff that I was into when I was a teenager, but didn't really follow through on at the time. Just a few months ago, I finally bought Tooth And Nail by Dokken, for instance. And over the course of the last 12 or so years, I finally added a lot of stuff by Cacophony, Vinnie Moore, Tony MacAlpine, Helloween, Night Ranger and Y&T to my collection. I dunno if that's nostalgia or if that's just because I always intended to have those records and never stopped liking them, I guess (though I was slightly appalled to realize how gratuitously over the top the guitar playing on Cacophony, Moore, and MacAlpine records were).

[Vic2012]

I've done similarly for the last 5 years or so. I've mentioned before that there's a Barnes & Noble near me that has one hell of a bargain bin in the music dept. I estimate I've bought close to 30 or 40 CDs in those 5 years. I've bought albums by artists I wouldn't have been caught dead buying 10 years ago. So now I have albums by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Bob Seger, Neil Young, etc.

[Zaragon]

Damn, I keep forgetting to check out The Idle Race, The Gods, and that Yardbirds record. How are they?

They all made exemplary recordings in the popsike/freakbeat vein, with The Idle Race tending to the toytown side of the spectrum (ala The Move) and The Gods and The Yardbirds mining the heavier end. The Idle Race and The Gods could be seen as the more album-oriented acts, arriving as both did in the post-Pepper flush of full-length conceptualization, through The Yardbirds also made that push with the Page-era Little Games. YouTube any of the red-listed tracks on those lists — highlight title>right click>"search Google for..." should bring videos for the songs up in secondary tabs — for more of an idea.

...I never really stopped liking anything I liked when I was younger (well, except The Village People, although I was never that into them)

"5 O'clock in the Morning" and "Do You Wanna Spend the Night" are two of the more engaging, little-heard songs from the costumed vocal act.

...I was slightly appalled to realize how gratuitously over the top the guitar playing on Cacophony, Moore, and MacAlpine records were.

In the years I've read your take on various guitar-related matters, I've never seen you place any limits in terms of expressionism or technique. I'm curious as to where those boundaries might lie. Personally, I've found the prime works of Cacophony and Vinnie Moore to be challenging explorations, and endorse Tony MacAlpine as a master of his class — with the compositional chops to boot.

[progeezer]

The Yardbirds "Little Games" also has "Black Mountain Side"s father, "White Summer", which has always appealed to me more than the later LZ Page acoustic showoff track (which, for perspective, I also love).

[Sputnik]

I already own all the music that was important to me in my youth, which frankly isn't all that much (prior to discovering Prog Rock). I didn't really get heavily into music until I was 14/15 years old, and then quickly discovered Prog, and that was that. So I've got a ton of Prog, and some select classic rock albums (though surprisingly few and mostly by a handful of bands - Beatles, Doors, Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Queen, ELO, Styx), and few smatterings of other things (a bit of jazz, the soundtrack for South Pacific, etc.).

What I have been doing of late is going back and digging a bit deeper into the classic rock catalog, mostly 70s stuff, but some from later periods. There are a lot of bands like ZZ Top, Skynyrd, Bad Company, and plenty others that I never really heard much beyond the radio hits. So I'm exploring those catalogs a bit. I actually now own all the studio Skynyrd albums, and will soon be purchasing the complete ZZ Top (mostly for their 70s albums, including their first two which I think are very cool but didn't have a lot of hits). Most of my explorations have given me the conclusion that the radio hits were pretty much the best material, but not always.

So in a way, this is buying my musical history, but it's the musical history I sort of missed out on a bit. it's been interesting and fun and in some ways I'm reconnecting with the rock music that drew me in originally, before I was swept away by the Proggy bands.

Bill

[Vic2012]

Yeah ZZ Top is one band I got into within the last 5 years or more. I have most of the 70s albums. The album I listen to the most is Rhythmeen from 1996. Billy Gibbons is the Humbucking King.

[spellbound]

In addition to searching for music from my childhood, I also seek out the better music from the '80s and '90s that I missed out on when it was new. Not really nostalgia, I was just busy doing other things for a decade or two.

[spellbound]

The Yardbirds "Little Games" also has "Black Mountain Side"s father, "White Summer", which has always appealed to me more than the later LZ Page acoustic showoff track (which, for perspective, I also love).

Ever hear the original?

[Sputnik]

The album I listen to the most is Rhythmeen from 1996.

That one isn't on the complete albums set I'm going to get. I'll make a point to check this one out, thanks.

Bill

[GuitarGeek]

In the years I've read your take on various guitar-related matters, I've never seen you place any limits in terms of expressionism or technique. I'm curious as to where those boundaries might lie. Personally, I've found the prime works of Cacophony and Vinnie Moore to be challenging explorations, and endorse Tony MacAlpine as a master of his class — with the compositional chops to boot.

Mmm, maybe "appalled" was the wrong word, and I know this is probably a cliche, but there seemed to be a bit of the "too many notes" syndrome sometimes with those guys. There's a couple tracks on the Vinnie Moore record that are basically ballads, ya know, where you might expect a little more restraint in the playing, but even still there's 128th notes everywhere. But it's still better than Yngwie.

But I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, given the genre and label we're talking about. And it's not like I don't still enjoy listening to it. I'm maybe just not inclined to binge on it the way I do with other things.

Yeah ZZ Top is one band I got into within the last 5 years or more. I have most of the 70s albums.

Likewise, I've also only gotten more into ZZ Top in the last few years. I had Eliminator and Afterburner, but I never picked up the earlier albums, at first because I just didn't have the money to buy everything as a teenager, but then later I heard reports about how extensively remixed the 70's era albums were. So it wasn't until the boxset with all the London and Warners era albums came out that I finally got to hear the pre-Eliminator albums (apart from the gaggle of songs that get regularly FM airplay).

Roxy Music was another band like that. I had always wanted to own their albums, but just never followed through until that boxset with all their studio recordings on it came out. So I was able to pickup everything (well, except the live album) in one fell swoop, including all non-album singles, etc.

[Jerjo]

It's been a constant process for me, going back and filling in gaps. There was so much music that I didn't listen to because of either budget, caution, or just constipated taste. A couple years ago I got a high-res download of The Rolling Stones Hot Rocks. It was one of the first things I owned on vinyl and while I have most of the songs on their proper albums it was still a blast hearing that old playing order that I had known as a much younger man.

[progeezer]

Ever hear the original?

Oh yeah, I know it well, and I even saw Pentangle (w/Matthews''s Southern Comfort opening) in Central Park long, long ago in a galaxy.........

[Vic2012]

I've never bothered with any ZZ Top 80s albums. I would like to get El Loco from 1980 and stop there.

[Fracktured]

Excellent thread. I've been buying music of my youth for years on cd but now I've been looking for some of the albums that have been lost in my vinyl collection. Several years ago I found a beautiful copy of the first Marshall Tucker Band album and when I opened up the cover a world of nostalgia hit me right between my eyes. I don't remember what happened to my original copy but seeing that inside cover photograph just brought back memories of my teen years and the southern rock movement at the time. So for me it became not just the music but holding the vinyl cover in my hands. Buying a new record by those nostalgic bands back in the 60's and 70's is a feeling that I've never got by buying music on cd. A still have some holes to fill in my collection and I'm looking forward to finding them in used shops or thrift stores. Thanks for the great thread topic!

Rick


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[progeezer]

Excellent thread. I've been buying music of my youth for years on cd but now I've been looking for some of the albums that have been lost in my vinyl collection. Several years ago I found a beautiful copy of the first Marshall Tucker Band album and when I opened up the cover a world of nostalgia hit me right between my eyes. I don't remember what happened to my original copy but seeing that inside cover photograph just brought back memories of my teen years and the southern rock movement at the time. So for me it became not just the music but holding the vinyl cover in my hands. Buying a new record by those nostalgic bands back in the 60's and 70's is a feeling that I've never got by buying music on cd. A still have some holes to fill in my collection and I'm looking forward to finding them in used shops or thrift stores. Thanks for the great thread topic!

Rick


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Rick! It's nice to know that something you think may be of interest to some actually is.

[Trane]

Good thread idea, Steve!!

Since a lot of bands are releasing boxes that have been 'tuned up' I have acquired a few. The prices are hard to beat.

If "tuned-up" means remixed or remastered for the umpteenth time, than I'm not interested... Most likely, I'll pass on the Bruford Band boxset, partly because it's going to be remixed and also missing the DVD RGTC (and already I own two of the three historical albums)

Not me Steve..nostalgia is a bit of a spectator sport for me. Musically, I look at the past at just that. If I go to shows that feature "OLD" artists, like the recent Moody Blues and JM Jarre, it's usually because I know that my wife would enjoy it too. I definitely would not buy music for nostalgia reasons.

Yup, I'm not prone to nostagia either and I'm probably too young yet to want to relisten to stuff I was subjected (parents' choices) to before I started buying my music. I have a compilation of Jacques Brel, Clause Nougaro, Jean Ferrat and Hugues Aufray (my mom named me after him), that I was subjected to by my parents, but have no desire (yet) to buy the separate albums per se. Even if that mmeans missing out on the most gem that didn't surface on compilations.

Furthermore, I will not buy 40's or 50's music for nostalgic reasons, since I wasn't alive (a lot of it bores me or even irritates me anyways)
BTW, I'm also not nostalgic of my lost vinyl collection, since I got most of what I wanted on CD since.

I already own all the music that was important to me in my youth, which frankly isn't all that much (prior to discovering Prog Rock).
Most of my explorations have given me the conclusion that the radio hits were pretty much the best material, but not always.

Ditto... if your first bought disc was Supertramp's COTC at age 11 in 74, there wasn't much you could've heard before in terms of rock (Beatles & Stones for sure, maybe Who and Zep)

And for many of those "classic rock" bands, the stuff you heard on the radio was their better stuff. Of course there is the exception that confrms the rule.
In that regard, though I buy very little compilations, but when I do indulge, I will tend to buy "best of" rather than "greatest hits", because the former is a bit more objective (as to what's best) and not subjected to sales criterias (which is the point of the latter)

It's been a constant process for me, going back and filling in gaps. There was so much music that I didn't listen to because of either budget, caution, or just constipated taste.

for constipated tastes (and somewhat true for me re: the killer-funk of the 70's that I considered as disco)

the only historical gaps I fill is of yesterdecades is the one that I didn't know about... Early 70's unearthed gems that I never suspected even existed) or 60's modal jazz, but I'd rather think of it as new (to moi, anyways) music

[Fracktured]

Buying music from my past has become more of an emotional project than anything else anymore. I originally bought the stuff I liked the most when I started buying cd's and then it went to the less important and now it's become the emotional aspect of music and my past. That's why the vinyl has become so important to me. I can't speak for everyone but I believe most of us have an attachment with music to our past that reminds us of what we consider a less stressful, more joyful time when many of our loved ones were still alive. "Search on man"

Rick

[Supersonic Scientist]

The only "back-reaching" that I'm doing is filling in important '50's & '60's Jazz stuff that I'm missing (Trane, M. Davis, Getz, etc.)

...and occasionally, if I can find the CD's on the cheap, missing Windham Hill releases that I never got a chance to pick-up when originally released.

[progeezer]

Buying music from my past has become more of an emotional project than anything else anymore. I originally bought the stuff I liked the most when I started buying cd's and then it went to the less important and now it's become the emotional aspect of music and my past. That's why the vinyl has become so important to me. I can't speak for everyone but I believe most of us have an attachment with music to our past that reminds us of what we consider a less stressful, more joyful time when many of our loved ones were still alive. "Search on man"

Rick

I think you hit the nail on the head when you call the motivation for personal nostalgic musical fulfillment emotional.

Objectively and pragmatically, why would one buy music that they haven't heard in years just to scratch a reflective itch? My feelings when listening to all the old stuff I've purchased range from "man, it's wonderful to bask in the "time warp glow" of what I'm hearing after a long time" to "what was I thinking when I bought this"?